by Claire Doole | Sep 9, 2025 | Blog
Geneva brands itself as the humanitarian capital of the world. Its ecosystem of UN agencies, international organisations and NGOs contribute to what is known as “International Geneva”. Yet since the arrival of President Trump in the Oval Office, international Geneva has been facing an existential crisis.
Many of these organisations depend heavily on US funding – in some cases it accounts for up to 25% of their budget. On top of this European donors are shifting development budgets to military spending and the UN has itself launched an initiative – UN80 – to downsize in order to be more efficient.
In these uncertain times, leadership communication is more important than ever.
Heads of organisations are having to make tough decisions on the programmes they cut, the contracts they don’t renew and the people they fire. According to local media 30,000 jobs are expected to go.
In times of crisis the ways leaders communicate can determine whether people feel trust, clarity and resilience or confusion and fear. More generally if done well it can drive change and enhance performance. Successful leaders influence guide and inspire others towards a share goal.
It is not just what they say, but how they listen, connect, motivate and align their message with their actions.
I have coached and trained senior managers, directors and the C-suite in how to master leadership communication, based on many years’ experience as an international journalist and spokeswoman handling crises.
Below are some of the top tips in how to communicate to your team or at a Town Hall during a time of crisis or significant change:
1. Be transparent and honest – share what you know, what you don’t know and what you are doing to find out. Avoid sugarcoating as this can dent your credibility later on.
2. Communicate frequently – in a crisis, silence creates uncertainty so provide regular updates.
3. Show empathy – acknowledge fears and anxiety by using language that connects emotionally such as “I know this is difficult for many of you …”
4. Be clear and concise by focusing on the essentials of what people need to know, feel and do.
5. Summarise what you are going to do as leader and what you are going to ask the team to do.
6. Listen actively and respond respectfully to questions.
7. Provide a vision for the future even it is uncertain that talks to recovery, growth or adaptation
8. Align words with actions as if what you say and what you do are inconsistent, you will destroy trust. You need to walk the talk!
Claire Doole Communications runs leadership communications workshops and coaches senior leaders in how to communicate with purpose, clarity and connection.
by Claire Doole | Jul 1, 2025 | Blog, Leadership Communications
In last month’s post, I shared some tips and techniques on the art of handling audience questions – whether you’re online, in-person, or in front of a tough crowd.
Now let’s take things a step further. What happens when the question is messy, hostile, or downright confusing? How do you respond when you’re caught off guard—or worse, when no one asks anything at all?
Below are some tips and techniques:
• Reframe convoluted questions: If a question is overly long, vague, or hard to follow, help your audience by tightening it up.
“I am sorry I can’t quite grasp every detail of your question, but I would like to respond to your part about X”
• Be clear when you don’t know the answer: You can’t have all the answers. Here are three options on what to say when you don’t have the answer:
i. Say ‘I don’t know’ – you’ll get back to them. Never, ever, guess.
ii. Ask someone in the audience to respond who is an expert on the subject.
iii. ‘I’m not 100% sure’ When you say this you’re not saying ‘I don’t know’, you’re saying ‘I’m not completely sure’, which is a totally different thing.
• Answering challenging questions: When faced with a challenging question from that angry staff member, board member or at an official hearing – you need to employ the ABC technique I teach in media training – acknowledge the question, potentially reframing it before you bridge to a broader point you want to make – moving from the specific to the general.
• Group multiple questions by theme: One client of mine has to answer up to twenty different questions, including sub-questions on at least five different topics or different aspects of one topic every time she appears in front of a parliamentary hearing in less than five minutes!
She groups the questions under themes and then answers any miscellaneous questions. She even manages to acknowledge some of the MEPs by name. This takes practice and skill.
• Answer questions individually if possible: It is much easier for you to answer questions one by one as you won’t forget them, and it helps the audience too, who can lose track if you answer multiple questions in one go.
• Have a process for taking online questions: When I moderate online press briefings or panel discussions, I also group the questions that flood in from journalists thematically. However, I signpost clearly which question is for which speaker and ask them one by one.
I also like to have a google doc where the event producer can copy and paste the questions as they come in on the chat. They can tweak the English and prioritize the question, even suggesting which question goes to which speaker. This makes it easy for me to group by theme, and ensure that each speaker gets at least one question.
What happens if you don’t get any questions?
It happens. Avoid the temptation to fill the silence. Wait. Some people are nervous about asking questions in public.
Alternatively, ask a question yourself – “A question I’m often asked is…” or “Before I began, someone asked me…”
You can also have someone lined up to ask the first question, or you can ask people to turn to their neighbor to reflect on what the presenter has said and see if they have any questions. As a moderator, I used this technique once, and it worked a treat!
Remember, Q&A isn’t a test – it’s a conversation. Whether you’re dealing with a chatty audience, a sceptical stakeholder, or radio silence, these strategies can help you keep the dialogue meaningful, honest, and engaging.
Claire Doole is a former BBC journalist, UN, IFRC and WWF International spokeswoman who has for more than twenty years trained and coached executives in the art of answering tough questions from the media, employees or the public. You can find out more at www.doolecommunications.com
by Claire Doole | Jun 11, 2025 | Blog, Public Speaking
For some presenters, the Q&A is the best part of any speaking engagement. They are more at ease, enjoy the exchange and sharing knowledge.
But for others, the question-and-answer segment can be extremely testing even for the most seasoned presenter. Here are a few challenges:
• Online events: Questions pour in via the chat, leaving the presenter frantically scrolling up and down to find the pertinent questions.
• External events or conferences: When audience members seize the opportunity to talk about their organization or experience, rather than ask a question to the presenter. (As a panel moderator, a comment rather than a question from audiences is an occupational hazard!).
• Town halls: When the presenter/speaker is faced with a challenging staff member, keen to ask that killer question.
• Formal meetings or hearings: The presenter is required to answer many questions in a fixed amount of time, often from members who ask multiple questions on a wide variety of subjects.
Having faced all of the above – as a panel moderator and presentation trainer here are some techniques for staying calm and focused when the questions start flying.
• Anticipate the difficult questions: When preparing your presentation or remarks, think about your audience and the specific challenging questions you could expect from them.
• Set the rules of engagement: Let the audience know that you want questions, not comments. If an audience member goes into a long speech, you can then legitimately ask them what their question is. (As a panel moderator I intervene on behalf of the audience when a questioner goes into comment mode!)
• Listen carefully to the question and seek clarification if you don’t understand it: As the presenter, you have to make sure that not only you but also the audience understands what is being asked.
• Have a process for taking online questions: When I moderate online press briefings or panel discussions, I also group the questions that flood in from journalists thematically. However, I signpost clearly which question is for which speaker and ask them one by one.
I also like to have a google doc where the event producer can copy and paste the questions as they come in on the chat. They can tweak the English and prioritize the question, even suggesting which question goes to which speaker. This makes it easy for me to group by theme, and ensure that each speaker gets at least one question.
Next month I shall share more tips on answering tough questions, whether they come at a town hall, conference or public hearing.
Claire Doole is a former BBC journalist, UN, IFRC and WWF International spokeswoman who has for more than twenty years trained and coached executives in the art of answering tough questions from the media, employees or the public. You can find out more at www.doolecommunications.com
by Claire Doole | Mar 4, 2025 | Blog, Organising events
“Organising an event can be a lot of work for little return” is increasingly the refrain I hear from communication and marketing teams.
They take up a lot of time and resources to prepare and publicise but fail to attract commensurate audiences.
For some, there are just too many side events in competition with each other for audiences and even for speakers. This was certainly the case at the World Economic Forum in Davos this year, and at the AI summit in Paris – where I am told some events attracted as few as 15 attendees.
In Europe budgets are tight, and cuts in US funding are making international and non-governmental organisations reassess their priorities.
Some events previously considered a nice to have but not essential may now be shelved. Others, such as annual congresses, assemblies or UN World Days marking the goals of the organisation, may have to statutorily go ahead.
So how do you get more bang for your buck in these economically challenging times?
This month I was asked to give a talk in London to members of the Global Communications Development Network about the secret of engaging events.
Below are some observations/pointers from the roundtable hosted at the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development.
• Think like a TV or radio producer when selecting your panel topic—make it timely and audience-focused. Identify key questions first, then reach out to potential speakers to assess their fit. Frame it as an initial inquiry, emphasizing that the final lineup will ensure diverse perspectives, geographies, and genders.
• Select high quality speakers well in advance. If you leave it to a few weeks beforehand you tend to get panels built around what people know about rather than what the audience wants them to talk about.
• Cast the panel to ensure different opinions and views. Many of the organizations I moderate for tell me that they want a lively “BBC style debate” but invite only people who say the same thing. The moderator at this point has no option but to play devil’s advocate.
• Have a few in-depth interviews – the so-called fireside chat – with a key speaker can be far more productive than organising a panel that as mentioned above requires a lot of editorial thought and advance planning.
• Choose a moderator who rigorously prepares. Insist that all moderators whether in-house or external hold briefing calls with the speakers.
• Entertain your audience as well as inform and educate them. Make sure your programme is varied and appeals to as many senses as possible – sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch.
• Pick a date that doesn’t conflict with other major events in the calendar. It is unwise for example to hold an event linked to climate change at the same time as the annual Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Climate Change Convention as audiences and relevant speakers may not be available.
In these economically challenging times, many organisations are not holding events themselves, but joining forces with others – as a way of keeping costs down and also attracting a potentially bigger audience!
by Claire Doole | Jan 6, 2025 | Blog, Leadership Communications
At the end of last year, I coached the finalists for the Geneva Challenge – an annual global contest under the patronage of the late UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan organized by the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies.
Five teams, each representing a continent, had to convince a jury of high-level policymakers that their project offered the best solutions to the challenges of youth empowerment.
They were master’s students from some of the world’s most prestigious universities.
But their task went beyond explaining their ideas. They had to persuade the jury that their proposal would effect change. Not an easy task given that they were not development policy experts.
Each five-member team delivered the first draft of their 15-minute presentation for me to review and propose changes to make it more impactful.
Below are some tips I gave to turn them into award-winning presenters with compelling presentations.
• Start with the Why. Why did your team decide to develop this particular project? What was your motivation? How can this build your credibility with the jury?
• Establish your credibility at the start, as otherwise, the audience won’t accept what you say. Introduce any team expertise in the area or, more powerfully, add a personal story.
• Focus your presentation on demonstrating how your solution addresses the real-world problem, emphasizing its practicality and feasibility. Avoid spending too much time on the context and problem, as many presenters tend to do.
• Make bold statements.
• Put a title on each slide, unless a photograph. Make sure it is a message rather than an explanation of what the slide is about.
• Use analogy to make the message memorable.
• Simplify numbers – and bring the points up one by one.
• Use video clips of less than 1 minute for impact
• Less is more. If asked for 15 minutes, prepare 14 minutes and keep to it.
As well as the 15-minute presentation, each team prepared a 2-minute pitch.
Here is the pitch from Team Africa – the winners of the 2024 Geneva Challenge for their project MNTASE Cares – Mobile Clinics for Youth Empowerment to address South Africa’s teenage pregnancy crisis.
It was simple, credible, concrete, emotional and beautifully delivered.
When was the last time you gave a great pitch or presentation?
Contact me for details of my coaching and team workshops.
